Customer Reviews
Lots of money, lots of information! - By: dodobird, 07 Apr 2008 
This book, despite being incredibly expensive, is ideal for those seriously into both card magic & psychological illusion. I say card magic because this book was written when Derren had only just started psychological illusion as a serious choice, & so was still primarily a close up magician. This is reflected in his writing: much of the book are 'how to's for close up card tricks, alll of which are not for the beginner, as I learned the hard way, since I bought this book when I was comparitively inexperienced at card magic, indeed, I still don't know the zarrow shuffle & rub-a-dub vanish needed for the killer 21 page '3 card routine', which, I may add, is very impressive if you are willing to put in the time.
This book offers a more advanced look into his methods as a psychological illusionist than 'tricks of the mind' (n.b. posession of that book is recommended, as this one does NOT teach conventional hypnosis, but instead assumes the reader already knows basic hypnotic technique, likewise with card magic). These methods include interesting information on anchoring including uses such as how to stop smoking, expansion on the NLP eye chart & a revelation on how much of his stuff actuallly works: which isn't even reallly a technique! It also offers a very brief introduction to Speed Seduction: the application of language subtlties to meet a different end than for tricks. If the reader happens to be interested in this, then what is said in Pure Effect is just one pattern, & I would refer the reader to Ross Jeffries, the founder of Speed Seduction.
Anyhows, possbly the highlight of this book is the revealing of the trick 'Smoke', one of the finest blends of close up conjurng & psychological illusion I have ever come across, & I would recommend that thse interested search for this trick on youtube (Derren performs it with Stephen Fry). Not only are there card tricks explained, but also some interesting smalll psychological illusions are revealed, which are give good examples to the reader of how to apply the techniques described, but, as Derren urges, do not let yourself be limited by these! They are just examples, although they are indeed very good examples.
As a conclusion, I would wholeheartedly recommend the purchase of this book if & ONLY if you are an enthusiast on the subject, as if it is merey a passing fancy since you enjoyed Tricks Of The Mind & wanted to learn more in a non-comitted manner, then it s probably best to steer clear, as the price tag is a tad extreme unless you are comitted. However, if you are comitted to it, then this is a rewarding read & will open many new possibilities for the intermediate to progress above & beyond Tricks Of The Mind & into many new areas of psychological illusion.
